Studio of Peter Paul Rubens, 'Portrait of the Archduke Albert', about 1615

The two portraits were made as pendants, or companion pieces, and would have hung side by side. The two figures are turned towards each other in the accepted tradition of pictures of betrothed or married couples, and they look out at us, as if we are witnesses of their union. They are the Archduke Albert of Austria and the Infanta (or Princess) Isabella, joint sovereigns of the Seventeen Provinces of the Spanish Netherlands. Sovereignty was granted to them by Isabella’s father, Philip II of Spain, on their marriage in 1599.

This was a tempestuous time in the history of the Netherlands, which had been ruled by Spain for generations. The Southern Provinces (Flanders) were, like Spain, Roman Catholic, but the Northern Provinces were predominantly Protestant and had fought hard for independence. Albert and Isabella were, in effect, rulers of Flanders only. While their predecessors had determined to Hispanicise Flanders with violent episodes of bitter warfare, Albert and Isabella had a strong sense of duty to the people as well as to the Spanish crown. They set out to create a sense of national identity – Roman Catholic, but with an independent character within the Spanish Imperial domains. They were the most benevolent of the long line of Habsburg incumbents and there was a lull in the worst of the violence. The prosperity this brought was recognised by the population, including Rubens, whose order book for portraits became quickly filled.

The couple were both patrons of the arts, and they influenced taste in painting and sculpture in particular. Albert created Rubens paintre de l’hostel, or court painter, along with two others, Jan Brueghel the Elder and Otto van Veen. They and the court architect, Wenzel Coebergher, became part of Albert and Isabella’s close circle. Albert was particularly fond of Rubens, who named his firstborn son after the Archduke. After Albert’s death in 1621, Isabella became sole sovereign. As a highly educated man, diplomat and devout Catholic, Rubens remained her trusted adviser in the struggle to maintain peace between the divided provinces. Isabella died in 1633, and the brief period of peace died with her.

The paintings are unlikely to be by Rubens’s own hand, but are studio copies. They were possibly made after two originals which are now lost but which are known through prints made after them. Two other portraits of Albert and Isabella that are definitely by Rubens were in his studio after his death and are now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna.